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Creative Clusters and City Growth

This paper draws on research undertaken for a 4-year evaluation of one of the City Growth Pilot studies – a business-led approach to regeneration launched by the UK government in 2001. The study was funded by the London Development Agency.

The research focused on the jewellery cluster in the City Fringe area of North London. It mapped firms in the area, reviewed a number of existing studies of the cluster, analysed local socio-economic data, and interviewed 13 businesses and a range of support agencies.

The City Growth strategy approach was conceived by Porter (1995) as a business led approach to encouraging the regeneration of deprived inner city areas. The paper builds on research on clusters and the creative industries. Using the four key advantages of a city location highlighted by Porter (strategic location, local market demand, integration with regional clusters, and human resources) the data collected was used to explore the degree to which this cluster gains competitive advantage from its location. The conclusions question the value of the cluster concept and Porter’s thesis.

The results of the research have helped inform the development of on-going work of the City Fringe Partnership with clusters in the area, and the paper has become a key text for a number of HE courses covering the creative industries. The baseline and final report are published at http://www.citiesinstitute.org/projects/evaluation-of-the-city-fringe-partnerships-city-growth-strategy.cfm